Three games to watch tonight 1/12
No. 7 Heritage-Conyers (15-2) at Brookwood (11-5)
Coming off a disappointing 73-66 overtime loss at Rockdale County, No. 7 Heritage-Conyers looks to get back on track against a dangerous Brookwood program. Guard play will be the story as both teams have quality backcourts. Juniors Jordan Thomas and Isaiah Banks are top notch for the Patriots. Thomas, 6-foot-2, leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points and paces Heritage with 3.1 steals. Banks is a bigger guard standing 6-foot-5 that prefers a downhill attack getting to the rim. Senior Charles Moore and 6-foot-3 junior Bryon Abrams are the team’s two top passers averaging 4.7 and 4.0 assists per game respectively. Brookwood counters with junior guard Donald “Bubba” Parham, who nets 16 points a night. Senior Micah Kinsey is Coach Daniel Bowles’ sparkplug posting 10.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 4.3 steals per. 6-foot-7 sophomore Amari Kelly has potential game changing size down low for the Broncos.
No. 1 Seminole County (12-3) at Bainbridge (9-7)
Fresh off their 71-65 win over former undefeated and now No. 2 Thomasville, the Indians’ road to repeating as Class AA champions gets no easier as they travel to 4A’s Bainbridge. Cousins and future UGA Bulldogs, Jordan Harris and Tyree Crump, go head-to-head for the first time this year after Crump missed the first meeting in which Seminole County won 68-60 due to suspension. The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 21 points per game and receives help from point guard DeVonte Jones and 6-foot-5 center Trevon Shaw, who both average 10.6 points. The Bearcats handed the Indians all three of their losses last year and Shaw was a big reason why, averaging 22.6 points and 13.6 rebounds in the wins. He tallied just six points in their loss on Dec. 3. Harris dropped 28 points and 12 rebounds last Saturday to defeat Thomasville. He posts 31.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 3.6 steals and 2.2 blocks per game, making him must-see TV in South Georgia. Scoring 5-foot-11 point guard Anfernee King is an unsigned senior, but holds interest from Valdosta State among other D-II schools. He is the Robin to Harris’ Batman, averaging 17.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 5.2 steals.
No. 2 Shiloh (12-2) at Berkmar (10-5)
High Major D-I talent will be on display in Gwinnett County as first place in Region 8 is on the line with Indiana-commit Al Durham and the Patriots hosting Georgia Tech signee Josh Okogie and the Generals. Berkmar has hit its stride since getting Jay Estime healthy and Zach Cooks eligible after transferring from Norcross. The two newcomers bring extreme firepower to Coach Greg Phillips’ offense. The lanky lefty Durham is still the straw that stirs the drink, able to attack the basketball and fire from deep. Shiloh will attempt to slow down the trio of guards with their tough-nosed defense. Okogie is the focal point of the offense and scored a season-high 34 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help the Generals survive No. 9 Grayson 80-73 on Friday. Seniors Malik Chandler and Dejon Waters are playmakers on both sides of the ball and know what it takes to win after playing three years on the varsity level.